Step 1: Find 2 paint cans

You will want the outer can to be large enough to provide a decent cooking surface, with the inner can being only a bit smaller. The intent is to have an air chamber that will pre-heat the incoming air to increase efficiency of fire.

Step 2: Drill vent holes

You will now be making the template for the air holes.

A. Wrap tape at the top of outer can, and at bottom of inner can. Two layers may be necessary if there is writing underneath tape. Then intent is to have the air move as far as possible inside of chamber, so it would be counter-productive to have holes at same level.

B. Draw a diamond or lattice patter in tape. This will help give you a regular pattern when drilling the holes. Make pattern large enough to retain structural integrity of can.

C. Attach lid and tape in place. (2nd Image)

D. Drill holes.

I used a 6.5mm drill for the holes of both cans and used the same pattern on both cans as well. You may want to use larger, I have not yet tested this and may enlarge my holes as well.

I found that when drilling, I could minimise the jaggies if I slowed the drill before pulling back out of the hole. Its nearly impossible to elimate jaggies, so beware of being pricked.

You could punch the holes instead of drilling, but this would cause extensive deformation of the can.

E. Remove tape after all the holes have been drilled. Remove tape with a waving motion to reduece breakage - making the process easier.

F. Lastly, vacuum all the shavings so you don't track them all over the house. A note: make sure you have a good bag in your vac. If not, you will most certainly cause extensive damage to your vacuum.

One could assume it would be slotted, as most people refer to a slotted screwdriver to being a "flat head" because the blade of the screwdriver is flat...it is very annoying for those of us who do know what each one is called. But what is the one that looks like a torx, only with a post in the middle making it so that you can't fit a slotted screwdriver inside it...oh, and I have license plate bolts that are similar, only they're hex-keyed, with the post in the middle of them too...would you know what screws/bolts with that (for lack of better term) head pattern is??

sorry to neglect the comments for so long. I have tried it out. It works well with a breeze. However, it does need more air flow when there is no wind. This cannot compare with the Vesto, as it has been much more throroughly engineered and tested. You place the combustables in the smaller can and the pot/grill across the top of the whole apperatus. Addiional modifcations to suggest would be handles and a simple ballast (rock) in the bottom of the larger can to provide assurance that it won't tip over easily. Irritant, flathead vs slot blade is all a matter of localized linguistics. I feel a bit experienced in this matter as I am working with people, in person, from about eighty different countries every day - It doesn't matter what you call it, just understand what you are trying to do with it and figure out what will work best for you. These are basic instructions, not guiding hands.

Cool idea, looks very similar to the pepsi can hiking stove thingee I saw online a while back. I was going to make a crack about somone who has all of those tools also being able to afford a grill, then I realized I have all but the rivet gun and can't afford a grill (but could probably manage a rivet gun) ;-).

Wow, very interesting! first thing I thought of when I saw this was "stuff some refractory mix in that empty space between the two cans, and you've got a foundry!" Heh heh heh... reminds me of the propane take foundry I've got in my back yard.... quite a beast... Anyways, looks pretty good!

Actually, theoretically speaking, as long as you have heat inthe can, it will move the air in there upwards as it warms it, drawing more in the bottom, This would then create it's own breeze. The key there is to have a place for the air moving upwards to go. If you put a grill rack over the top, you should get a good burn, if not slow and steady. If you were to use this for cooking in a pot, I would suggest working out some sort of ventillation holes in the vertical lip of the top (around the outside lip) allowing the heated air to escape and replenish the oxygen to the fire via the vent holes. Having scrolled back up again, i also beilieve I may have found the other part of your ventillation problem. Your outer holes are in the top of the can, while the inner ones are in the bottom. I would put your outer holes below the inner holes, to enhance and help direct the updraft that you are trying to create. This should allow a more free flow of the air. Mind you, this is great idea, just wanted to add from a number of years as a firefighter and way too many classes on the subject of fire :) ~C

I'm sorry to say this, as it looks like you put quite a bit of work into this and did a good job, but wouldn't this stove need at least 3 walls to work correctly, or the positioning of the holes reversed? The way it looks to me now, the fire would heat the air in between the walls, then it would rise and exit from the outside holes at the top of the can. This would get a draft started where unheated air enters from the open top travels through the fire and then exits through the wall. This would be almost the exact opposite from what you would want.

you can put some cheap lemon juice or vinegar or other acid (like HCl) on the surfaces to strip off the zinc coating. It will also help dissolve some of the paints. To make the reaction move along faster do something that will increase entropy. (like heat the juice/acid up near boiling and then apply it. It will smell like complete ass, but it will not be toxic like the burning zinc oxide / paint decompositions. The alternative is to burn it out, and make sure the white smoke goes somewhere other than on your person or personal affects.

The soda-can-stoves are different. The soda-can-stoves burn fuel, and one chamber is used to heat the fuel to gas in the other chamber. The fuel jets out of both chambers, but efficiency in increased from the second because the second chamber helps pressurize the gas, and sends it out of small holes, so it mixes better with the air as it burns. This can-stove above is intended for preheating air before it reaches the burning wood. I think, normally, cold air would reduce the temperature of the fire, making for smokier, less efficient burning.